Origins of a Half Kitsune
by inknamida
Summary: Biography of Kitsune, daughter of Kurama from my Harry PotterYu Yu Hakusho crossover. A witch has an illegitimate child, who is subsequently orphaned thanks to Voldemort. Being added to Harry Potter and the DBoJ.
1. Prologue Part 1

Origins of a Bastard  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything but this idea for a plot and alternate storyline, the characters and places mentioned, except for a few created by me, belong to the creators of either Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter, and any resemblances to people, living or dead, are purely the figment of my, or your imaginations. Also, I do not own the "mission" thing from "Mission Impossible", oh, and don't sue me; I don't have money, I even have to go to a community college. ^_^  
  
Okay, so a few people may recognize this as the prologue for my other story, What are You Withholding, and it is for the most part. I've changed the original story, and I've decided to create a new series of Origins as separate biographies for my new characters. It's a little dull, but now you don't have to read it to get the story, which should take less time to write since I can get straight into the story and finish up each of these side stories later. As in this story will be finished after (or when I don't want to work on) the main story.  
  
Prologue  
  
A young man of 17 sits at his computer desk working on his first English essay. He scratches his western, '80's styled orange hair with a pencil as he tries to turn his thoughts from Japanese into English, having a hard time coming up with a title to begin with. Sighing, he bangs his rough, beaten up face against the desk for a few minutes. "I don't have a clue about this Christianity thing." He manages to mutter in English before he hears a tapping on his bedroom window. Seeing a familiar bouncy girl with blue hair and a pink kimono riding an oar in midair, he smiles, and then he opens the window for her to fly through. "Hey Botan-chan, long time no see!" He exclaims in his native tongue upon seeing her.  
  
"Ohayo! It sure has been Kuwahara-kun," the 'Grim Reaper' starts, "and I would like to say this was just a friendly little visit, but Koenma-Daioh has some serious business to discuss with you." Kuwabara Kazuma groans inwardly, for the last time he had anything to do with the Reikai Prince was when Kurama came back from Makai. "Here, I'll just let you watch the tape, it's still encoded," she pauses for a short chuckle and tosses the tape to him, "but it's not like THAT matters much here, ne?"  
  
He joins in with the little joke, for the encoding is meant to prevent non-spiritually sensitive people from seeing, or hearing, the message, but the only other person in the house, his sister Shizuru, is also spiritually sensitive. "That's for sure, why'd he even bother?"  
  
"Oh, just formalities I guess," Botan sighs, "Well, I have to get going, and dead souls don't just collect themselves these days. Tell Yukina-chan and Kurama-kun I said hi? Okay?" With that the bubbly girl flies out the window with a little spin outside and disappears from view.  
  
'Odd,' Kuwabara thinks, 'why would Koenma-Daioh contact me? We aren't tantei anymore. And I wasn't really one to begin with." He puts aside his glum thoughts as he pops the tape into his VCR and presses play. Immediately, a toddler dressed in blue, old style clothing appears, "Not much like his first production," Kuwabara notes idly as the image begins to speak.  
  
"Hello Kuwahara-kun, it's been a while hasn't it? You probably are aware that you are no longer employed by Reikai," the toddler's voice begins.  
  
"It's not as though you paid us anyway." Kuwabara interjects, still not in English.  
  
"And you are not required to help in any missions now or in the future, but I have a personal request to make. As always, keep this information secret, for if normal humans found out about the existence of the Spirit World, or the Demon World, or just about anything else in here, it would cause complete and total mayhem." The screen changes to a peaceful setting of what appears to Kuwabara to be a castle. It is similar to the ones he had seen in English class, only functional by the state of the giant building and the amount of people on the grounds. The people, mostly children his age and younger are all dressed in strange uniforms, robe style. "As we currently are working without spirit detectives, we are searching for people in their prime with spiritual capabilities to replace the former detectives in trouble zones where demons don't follow Enki's Law, namely in countries other than Japan. As Botan-chan informed me that you are in your second year of English, I request that you visit this school shown here and demonstrate your spiritual abilities in an attempt to find others like you to help the Spirit World. Now, this school doesn't look very ordinary at any glance, and it isn't. This school is far from ordinary for it is a wizard school called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Wizardry is the ability to perform magic using props such as wands, spells, and potions, but the key ingredient in any magic is the spirit energy that comes from within the human, and well, so demons have the ability for wizardry too, but they use demon energy of course. Since I know how dense you can be I'll repeat various key points here as I tell you in detail what I want in a familiar format, you have seen 'Mission Impossible', right? Okay, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to join Kurama-kun and Yukina-chan, who have already agreed to this," the picture of a beautiful young Koorime with pale blue to green hair and blood red eyes pops up causing Kuwabara to fall into a hypnotized state in which he will agree to almost anything, "on the first day of your winter vacation in Genkai-shihan's temple so that you may travel to Hogwarts and demonstrate your spiritual abilities for the week and observe EVERYTHING observe EVERYTHING observe EVERYTHING observe EVERYTHING observe EVERYTHING," this repeats for about five minutes as the picture of Yukina rapidly switches with a screen displaying subliminal messaging before turning back into Koenma to finish, "and tell me all that you see and hear. Now, have fun with Yukina-chan, pack for a week's stay, and please listen to the Headmaster of the school. See you later at your debriefing!" The screen fades to black as the words "first day of winter vacation, Genkai's temple, Yukina" are repeated until the sound fades with the screen.  
  
"Creepy." Kuwabara says in English before he sighs happily at the thought of a week with Yukina and turns back to his English paper.  
  
"Are you sure he's coming?" A soft, high, feminine voice asks in English shyly. The owner is a young girl with hair the shade of pale blue or sometimes green ice; her eyes are crimson as newly shed blood. Yukina is short, and not exactly young or human, for she is much older than she looks and a demon of the Koorime tribe. Behind her is a faded old woman, Genkai-Shihan, with pale hair that appears to have been bubblegum pink once. She is a human, and fairly old, with lines of fate etched into her skin and a tired, worn expression as she glances at a wristwatch.  
  
"He will be here; I contacted him before I came over myself." A deeply feminine voice answers her. A red haired young man of 18 is the creator of the voice, with feminine beauty to match his voice and silky, long locks. Piercing green orbs peer out a window in the temple, searching not just for a figure, but also the ki of the one who is late. Kurama stiffens feeling the familiar energy signature, the others follow suit quickly as the old woman's wards are felt shifting around the guy and a low wail is heard getting closer.  
  
"Yukina! Yukina, Yukina, Yukina!" Oddly, the orange haired Kuwabara prances to the temple on tiptoes, heading straight for the trio. "MY LOVE! IT IS THE MIGHTY KUWAHARA KAZUMA," the door flies open as he enters, hearts filling his eyes. He ignores the chuckles of the old lady and Kurama, "and I...."  
  
He is cut off sharply by Yukina's soft voice, "Oh, Kazuma-kun, I thought we were supposed to be practicing English, but you've been talking in Japanese as usual."  
  
He stutters, scrambling for the right words, "Yukina-chan, I... I'm sorry, um... uh... please forgive me.... I don't speak English very well." They all have slightly British accents, the style used mostly by people who have never been there, but by those who try and imitate the language after a teacher. Her kind smile stops his heart and makes him grin.  
  
"It's alright Kazuma-kun, Kurama-kun and I can help you." She giggles at how silly he acts and wonders how many humans are like that.  
  
"Our transportation should be arriving in this room at any moment." Kurama interrupts, and points to the lit fireplace. "I do not understand why we are supposed to light a fire, but I expect it has something to do with our travel guide appearing." Kuwabara doesn't understand any of this, but he obediently waits and wonders if Yukina would be angry if he held her hand.  
  
Suddenly, the fire flares bright neon green, and a figure appears from inside it. The person walks, unharmed by the flames, into the room. He wore robes, very similar to the students' in the video but with stars, and he appears to be an elderly bespectacled man with white hair, a beard, and a moustache, although not as old as Genkai. If she could have heard Kuwabara's mental comparison, Genkai would have smacked him.  
  
As the flames draw back to their normal shade, the man began to talk in a perfect northern Britain accent. "Hello, I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore," he adds a formal bow, "and I am here to take you there per the request of Lord Koenma. We shall be going through the floo systems. We shall each take a pinch of this green powder, throw it into the fire, say, 'Hogwarts: Headmaster's Office', and then walk into the green fire. Just remember to keep your elbows in."  
  
The three take a pinch of the proffered powder; Kurama deftly pockets some for future use, and nobody notices. Then they each enter the fire as ordered. Yukina and Kurama wonder how the whole magic thing worked while they go through, but Kuwabara cries because unknown assailants were hitting his elbows.  
  
Once there, Kurama finds himself in a nice office with odd doohickeys and thingamajigs. As Yukina enters behind him, he moves over and notices that the paintings of sleeping people are moving. "Odd." He states before turning to the carrot top and the Headmaster.  
  
Kuwabara whimpers a little in pain. Noticing, Yukina goes to heal him as the Headmaster gives them final instructions. "Well, there aren't as many students here as normal, so you will be staying in the dormitories with them. We have a special ceremony to pick which house you will be staying in. It's about suppertime already, and we will perform it there in front of the remaining students. Please behave and follow the instructions of the teachers and the rules of the school; they are there for your safety." Dumbledore hands them each a copy of the rules, only a page long, grabs a beat up old hat, and starts out the door. "Now just follow me, it shouldn't be too hard for you to learn your way around the castle, just stay with a student." He continues as he leads them to the main hall, "You will be exhibiting your skills once a day, right after lunch, and I do look forward to seeing a real fox demon. However, the day after tomorrow and Sunday are Hogsmeade weekend days, so you won't be performing although you are welcome to accompany the students into town then."  
  
The three nod their heads graciously as they are led into a large room with four rows of tables, half filled with students. The table on the far left holds the fewest students. Four banners mark each table as distinct houses, and Kurama ponders a moment on what they could stand for. 'A snake, a raven, and a griffin, I only really recognize three, but I do not quite understand what they represent.' He thought as the trio is led up to a platform where the teachers eat.  
  
"When your name is called, sit on the chair and put the sorting hat on." A tired looking male teacher in blue robes says before placing the same worn hat Dumbledore had on the stool. Picking up a very short scroll, he calls, "Kurama".  
  
Kurama obediently sits on the stool, but reluctantly puts the shabby hat on his head. Almost immediately, he hears an odd, cranky voice in his head. 'Darn it, I'm only supposed to do this once a year! Do you hear that, once a year! Not twice, once! Stupid new program, why did you have to come here?' The voice stops whining and starts sifting through his mind.  
  
'You are very shabby at this, are you not? I can feel you and even tell what you are looking at.'  
  
'I'm not paid to be quiet, let's see, you are very intelligent, that would make a good Ravenclaw, but you are shrewd and cunning. Hm? You were a demon, and a thief as well? You were mean to your "ningen" mother just because she wasn't a demon? Well, well, these certainly qualify you for Slytherin, even if you are very intelligent.'  
  
Suddenly, the same voice that was in his head erupts with a cry, "Slytherin it is!" Deciding that this is the signal that his mind probe is over, he stands up and replaces the odd hat and heads toward the 'table of few people' that are waving to him. He sits down next to a brunette boy and a blonde girl, but before introductions can be made the teacher calls another name.  
  
"Kuwabara, Kazuma"  
  
As he walks past the teacher, he says in perfect English, "You pronounce it wrong. I am the Mighty Kuwahara Kazuma! They spell it with a 'b' but pronounce it like an 'h'." He grins before sitting down and placing the hat on his head.  
  
'Another one?' A voice starts in his head as he feels odd prickling feelings in his head.  
  
"Ah! The tickle feeling!" He looks around for ghosts but only sees one near the students at the table to his left, which isn't the same one Kurama is at because he is facing towards the doors now. Everyone is either laughing at him or giving him odd glances.  
  
'No, I'm not a ghost; I'm just searching your brain to find out where to put you. Well, Ravenclaw is out.'  
  
'Why?' Kuwabara thinks, realizing it's telepathic and he will only embarrass himself further by speaking aloud.  
  
'Okay, so you aren't THAT dumb. Hm, and you aren't like the last guy at all, but you are brave, and you have done everything you could for your friends. You've died or something for one friend, stolen for your cat, allowed people to possess you, killed demons, studied all night long for your friend, been beaten up all week for your friend, and you've nearly died or something! You're easy to place.' That hat speaks aloud again, "Gryffindor!"  
  
The half-filled table to the left with the ghost erupts in clapping and cheers, so Kuwabara goes down to join them, but stops when everyone starts laughing again. "Um, I did something wrong?"  
  
"You forgot to take me off, you dolt!" The hat wails before Kuwabara grabs it off of his head, runs over to Yukina, and hands it to her.  
  
"Oops, sorry, but, that is the right table, ne?" The teacher nods as Yukina stares at the hat, still waiting for her turn. As Kuwabara sits down next to some still laughing kids his age, the teacher speaks for the last time ever.  
  
"Yukina."  
  
By this time, both Yukina and Kurama realize that while the sorting hat talks telepathically, it's lips still move, so Yukina, after seeing two people go up, has a clue as to what will happen. She sits down and places the hat on her head. 'Hi!' She greets the hat mentally.  
  
'Ack! Are you the last one? Please be the last one.' She gives an affirmative and it continues to probe her mind. 'Hm, you are a demon as well; however, you defied your elders and searched for this "forbidden child", you are very nice, and not selfish at all. You aren't too intelligent, so Ravenclaw is out, so is Slytherin. You aren't exactly brave, but very determined, so, yes, I have the answer.'  
  
"Hufflepuff!" Yukina frowns slightly at not being in the same house as one of her friends, but she brightens at seeing all of the welcoming faces at the table she is sent to, and she gets to sit across the aisle from Kurama.  
  
As Yukina sits down, the Headmaster stands up to finish their introduction to the school, "These three are going to be here for the next week, so be nice and try not to break too many of the rules around them, we want to make a good impression. Now it is true that Yukina and Kurama don't have last names because they aren't actually human, but please treat them as you would your friends, be courteous. Tomorrow, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday they will give demonstrations on the use of an alternate source of magic, 'reiki' and 'youki'. Feel free to discuss this and ask questions, but give them room if they request it. And be especially understanding with Kazuma, he's still learning English and he may have trouble understanding what you say. For those of you who know Spanish, you may want to talk to him because he took six years of it when he was younger and may understand that better after a little practice. Now, let's eat!"  
  
"Hi there, you all know my name, so why don't you tell me yours'," Kurama starts as he fills his plate full of food that has magically appeared. He isn't too fazed by this, considering Yomi had had most of his meals delivered this way, saving the cute servants for delivering dessert.  
  
"Why should we? After all, we don't really know anything about you, except you aren't a wizard, and that makes you a muggle." The brunette 17-year-old guy beside him sneers. Kurama changes his tactics, following what the hat had found.  
  
"Because you are just a lowly, stupid, low-class human, and I am offering to grace your life with my presence and not kill you like I should, or eat you as many of my friends would if put into this situation." He states calmly with a mild glare. Behind him, he feels Yukina stiffen.  
  
"Eh, wait, I was joking, see, I um, wanted to make sure you were one of the cool non-human ones." The boy lies, being just a little scared since Kurama's eyes changed color for a second from the usual emerald green to a hard gold.  
  
The group of ten Slytherins quickly introduce themselves.  
  
"Hi, my name's Yukina." She starts shyly as the others start dishing out their food. The girl next to her introduces herself and the other five seventh years and the three sixth years. There are fourteen other Hufflepuffs at the table.  
  
"Try the mashed potatoes, they're delicious." The seventh year girl advises with a smile. As she starts putting food on her own plate, Yukina stiffens, hearing him insult the other students and feeling his ki change slightly. It passed and she relaxes hoping that he wasn't really being mean to them.  
  
"Hi, I'm the Mighty Kuwahara Kazuma, number 1 delinquent at Sarayashiki Junior High, I'm the only normal human in my group!" Kuwabara introduces himself to the forty or so Gryffindors. With that he helps himself to food as the other students his age introduce themselves and any close relatives they have at the table.  
  
"So, what are the other people?" A dark haired girl asks leaving Kuwabara to try and explain all of their adventures in English, only using present tense, and with a small Japanese-English dictionary that really didn't have enough terms for the topic.  
  
"Hey, I speak Spanish, maybe you can try it in that language?" The same dark haired girl asks politely as her friend, a brunette from Wales, giggles at his discomfort. And so he continues his tale using a Spanish translator for help when it gets rough.  
  
"So, what exactly are you?" A blonde Slytherin girl asks Kurama shyly. He finishes his mouthful of stew and begins to weave his tale of being a fox demon spirit merged with a human, a former thief forced to help fight demons and crazy humans that employed demons for a special government organization as parole for stealing three magic artifacts. They assume he means the Japanese Ministry of Magic and liken his job to that of an auror.  
  
Halfway through dinner, Kurama hears the Hufflepuffs asking Yukina the wrong question. A red haired boy asks shyly, "So, um, do you have a boyfriend or anything?"  
  
"Boy friend? Well, there's Yuusuke-kun, Kurama-kun, Kazuma-kun, Hiei-kun, Koenma-sama, Kazuma's little friends." She almost continues but they start laughing at her for some odd reason, so Kurama turns around to help her.  
  
"She is confused because you used a word that does not mean what she thinks it means," Kurama states bluntly before telling Yukina in Japanese, "They meant one male who you would have special feelings for, and go out on dates with, such as a lover." She blushes slightly. "They did not mean to offend you, Yukina-chan."  
  
"My mother had a boyfriend, and then she died." Yukina whispers so that only a few around her can hear it, her eyes start to glisten with tears. She quickly finds herself in a warm, brotherly embrace.  
  
"Do not cry, not here, not when they did not mean to hurt you." Kurama whispers in her ear before releasing her, "I will tell them your story, if you allow it."  
  
The Koorime nods and Kurama begins to weave another story. "Yukina-chan is a very rare demon; in English her race is known as the Ice Maidens. There are no males; therefore, her kind reproduces asexually, without males. However, they are all female and can reproduce with a male of another demonic species, but it is rare, taboo, and leads to disastrous consequences. Her mother fell in love with a fire demon, and then she gave birth to twins, but one was a male child, so under Ice Maiden law, they had to kill it. Her mother died from grief after he was thrown over a cliff." He gives Yukina another small hug and smiles at her, "But he managed to survive, so she is looking for him, you will find him Yukina-chan." She smiles back and nods.  
  
"Hiei-kun will find him, someday."  
  
Kurama turns back to the students, "Please refrain from discussing such topics as 'boyfriends' and sex around her, for it makes her uncomfortable and sad." Some of the students on the other side of the table are turned around to ask the Ravenclaws for clarification on what he said.  
  
"What's a 'taboo'?"  
  
"What does 'asexual' mean again?"  
  
At this point Kurama looks over to the far table to see how Kuwabara is doing, and notices that he is surrounded by questioning students. 'He has resorted to Spanish and two dictionaries. I hope he is having a good time over there.' Kurama finishes his thought just as he is distracted by a flash of lustrous red hair at the Ravenclaw table. He quickly memorizes the girl's face, hair, and body before turning back around.  
  
"Wow, so perfect: shiny, long, good body, and I bet she doesn't even get split ends." He looks up suddenly, realizing that he just spoke aloud.  
  
The blonde Slytherin girl beside him asks, "Who's got a good body?" and all eyes turn to him.  
  
"Oh, that red haired Ravenclaw over there," Kurama points to her cautiously, "Although I was talking about her hair, not her body. However, that is nicely done as well."  
  
"Humph," the Slytherin boy on his right starts his rant, "She's sexy, yeah, but I tried to get her, just for a little tumble and all, and she turned me down so fast. Ravenclaws just aren't interested in sex; they think that they are too smart for us. And since she's friends with a mudblood that's about all she's good for."  
  
"She seems to be worth the challenge though." Kurama forces himself not to stare at her. "What is her name?"  
  
"Michelle something or other, something Irish."  
  
The boy adds to the blonde's information, "She's best friends with Annabelle, a mudblood in Gryffindor. If you're serious, you will have to ask her for help. That is, if you really want to lower yourself to speaking with such trash."  
  
Kurama thinks for a moment, trying to form a plan, "I will think about it. I have not had a woman in the past 19 years because of my rebirth and my mother. It would be nice to let loose for once."  
  
A voice whispers in Japanese behind him, "Kurama-kun, you can't mean that. You can't just sleep with a girl; it would be cruel to her."  
  
"Do not worry about my actions." Kurama replies in Japanese, "Besides, I will tell her before hand that I do not plan on a serious relationship with her."  
  
Soon after that, dessert is finished and everyone leaves for his or her common rooms. Kurama finds himself in a damp dungeon filled with furniture and dusty tapestries. It reminds him of his life as a thief, living in caves scattered around Makai. "Cozy, and just like home." He smirks as the others wonder at his words.  
  
Kuwabara, on the other hand, is in a tower room with a warm fire and leather armchairs. The boys show him to his room, but he returns downstairs with them to talk and marvel at their magical abilities. "Hey, I want a wand thingy." The Gryffindors laugh, feeling at ease with his juvenile, friendly ways.  
  
Yukina is led into a nice little third floor common room filled with nice paintings that wave hello and tapestries of flocks of sheep and beautiful meadows. Here the girls ask her for more details on Yuusuke and Keiko's relationship, Kuwabara and his kitten Eikichi, and the boys ask about Hiei and the demons they have fought. "Oh, Eikichi-chan is the cutest little kitten, sometimes Kazuma-kun brings it over for me. Kuwahara is his family's name. I think it is so odd how you have your family names last." Yukina and the girls gossiped long into the night.  
  
Elsewhere, in a deserted classroom, five of Hogwarts's ghosts are deep in discussion. The Bloody Baron yells at the four in front of him, "He's brought bloody demons here!"  
  
"Oh push off," Nearly Headless Nick interrupts, "They came with that nice human chap, so they can't be evil, and I'm certain that Dumbledore would never let soul eaters in Hogwarts."  
  
"I agree with Nicholas here," says the Hufflepuff ghost, "That female demon seemed nice enough, just shy. And she mentioned that she didn't like eating meat because the animals were her friends. She only ate it because she didn't know what sheep were." The ghost pauses, "Oh no, what will she do when she finds out what the animals on the tapestries are!" The ghost quickly disappears.  
  
Growling the Bloody Baron resumes his rant, "Well, I still don't trust that Kurama, he used his demonic reputation to get the students under his thumb. Peeves!"  
  
"Yes sir!" The mischievous ghost responds quickly.  
  
"Keep tabs on that demon, and report to me if he does anything fishy." With that Slytherin's ghost disappears and hides in an empty part of the dungeon. The others quickly leave as well.  
  
After breakfast the next morning Yukina, Kuwabara, and Kurama try to find each other in the hall so that they can decide where to discuss their demonstration. Kuwabara walks up with a few of his new Gryffindor friends. One just happens to be Annabelle. Kurama sees his opportunity to ask some questions while Kuwabara starts grinning and tripping over his feet and tongue for Yukina's attention.  
  
"You are friends with Michelle from Ravenclaw, are you not? I am Kurama." He asks politely.  
  
"Well yes, I'm Annie." She smiles a little confused, "How would you know that?"  
  
"Oh, I asked around," he smiles, flashing one of those polite little things that made the girls in his school swoon, "but what I would really like to know is the name of her favorite flower."  
  
"Oh, I see." She giggles, "You think she's pretty. Well, even though you ARE in Slytherin, Kazuma here says that you are really nice except in a fight, so I MIGHT tell you."  
  
"Well, I am not ALL nice, I do occasionally crack jokes at Kuwahara-kun's and Yuusuke-kun's expenses."  
  
Yukina pipes in after being introduced to the other Gryffindors, "And didn't Hiei-kun threaten to pull out your voice box when you teased him? Don't worry Annie, he's just mischievous like all fox demons."  
  
Kurama smirks, "I'm supposed to set a good example for the younger ones."  
  
"The only fox demon you've seen since becoming a human was Koto." Yukina replies with smile.  
  
Annie decides that Kurama can't be too bad and decides to tell him Michelle's favorite flower. "She likes Bluewart Thistles because of the leaves and how they flower only once in their long lifetimes."  
  
Kurama doesn't know what that plant is, but he does know which teacher to ask. One of the professors gave off the smell of fresh soil and growth, so he decides to go visit him before lunch. He thanks the seventh year girl before going to the library with his friends to discuss their plans.  
  
After lunch, the dining tables are cleared and rows of chairs are added facing an empty platform. Students sit in the chairs as Dumbledore helps Yukina adjust the voice projectors she and Kurama will be using. Kuwabara is too loud to use one. Soon they are ready to start and Yukina walks up to the front center of the platform.  
  
"Hi," shyly, "I'm Yukina-chan, and the first thing we are going to do today is an introduction of 'reiki' and 'youki'." She waits for everyone to quiet down before resuming. "In English, reiki means spirit energy, and all humans have a little bit of it. Some humans like my friend Kazuma-kun have a lot of spirit energy, which allows them to do amazing things. In theory, all of you have an unusual amount of reiki, allowing you to tap into the magical energies of your wands. Youki on the other hand means demonic energy, which all demons have, again in varying degrees. I have a little youki while my friend Kurama-kun over there has an enormous amount. Demonic energy acts in different ways. Some demon's ki manifests itself along the lines of the elements. As an Ice Maiden, I am strong in ice powers, I can use it to freeze a room or create a barrier. I can also heal. Kurama-kun has earth powers that manifest themselves in the area of plant manipulation. He can control his powers so well that he can make just about any plant do as he wishes. Spirit energy though is centered mainly in spirit, but it can also take on elements that the users are familiar with. This is what allows Kurama-kun to control certain plants even in his human form. Humans tend to specialize in certain techniques of use, such as healing, ki blasts, telekinesis and other mind powers, and materialization. Kazuma-kun is very good with materialization; he creates a sword of pure spirit energy, and he can manipulate it at will. Now I'll stop boring you so that we can give you a visual and tactile demonstration."  
  
With this, Yukina begins to send out her youki forming ice on the ground around her and bringing the room temperature down by forty degrees. Some people reacted quickly, their bodies noticing the increased output by Yukina. Others close to the platform reacted upon seeing the ice form at the Koorime's feet. By the time Yukina is finished, everyone is sure of her power because they are freezing cold. She quickly stops and signals for the charms teacher to bring the temperature back to normal.  
  
"Well everyone, that was one of the things I can do with my powers, now I'll let Kurama-kun show off his plant manipulation abilities." She waits for Kurama to step up and take her place, but when she doesn't hear him moving she looks back at him. "Oops! I'm so sorry!" Kurama's feet are stuck in place, and he is trying to cut through the ice with the stem of a rose.  
  
"It is alright, I will just be a minute." Yukina attempts to bring the ice back in to her, and it melts more quickly than before.  
  
Kurama smiles, and laughter hides behind his eyes as he steps forward. Before him is a group of seventh year Ravenclaws, the house that has filled the chairs closest to the platform. He begins by reaching into his mane, disguising it as a flip of his hair.  
  
"Yukina has already introduced my powers and I; therefore, I present to you a seed that I knew as the Frostbitting Thornbush. It is a demonic plant that lives for centuries feasting on the frozen bodies of travelers that get stuck nearby the roads that cross the tundra wastelands in Makai. However, it seems as though a subspecies of this plant has evolved in this world. It looks the same, only more juvenile. It dies before it can flower a second time, most likely from a lack of a specific nutrient that is available in Makai soil. In the Ningenkai, there are only trace amounts of this nutrient, thus stunting the growth and life span of this plant. Most of you know it as the Bluewart Thistle. I thank your herbology professor for the specimen." With this he ends and brandishes the seed he pulled out of his hair.  
  
He holds the seed before him, allowing all a good view as tendrils of roots and stems slowly emerge from the seed. The multiple stems twist, thorns grow, buds form into leaves and after a minute the few remaining buds blossom into a deep, though cold, blue flower. Several students and professors gasp in amazement. "This is the first blooming stage of the Bluewart Thistle. In the human world version, the plant would shortly die for lack of that one nutrient, but with my energy, I can spur it into its second stage, where it will become the demonic thornbush."  
  
He inserts more energy into the plant. The blossoms mature, the petals fall to the floor. Seedpods grow. Then slits form in the pods, which then open up like triangular mouths; the ends form pincers. Kurama holds the plant by the roots, watching the small open-mouthed pods move around searching for food. "Generally, this plant is harmless, but it does have its powers. It will only attack and feed upon frozen creatures: beasts, demons, unfortunate humans that wander into their areas. Once each pod eats roughly, two human sized portions of animal matter; the seeds mature and grow from the energy the pods gain from digesting the bodies. After this, the pods spread open completely, and ten seeds per pod fly out into the air like dandelion fluff. The seeds are fairly heavy, so this procedure is timed with a blizzard that the plants can sense based on wind speed and temperature." He graces the room with a small, thoughtful smile here. "In the demon world, these plants flower again, and THEN they become dangerous. During the second eating phase, the plant's seed pods can actually fire blasts of ice at potential food sources, freezing them when they get close to the plant." Suddenly the plant fires a blast into the crowd of humans, freezing an unlucky Ravenclaw fifth year. Kurama stares in shock at the boy, and then glances as the plant orients itself on its prey. "Um, then again, when one messes with plants such as these, giving them extra energy, they usually, well, not usually but sometimes turn more dangerous than before. Or it might be because I'm so used to turning plants into weapons." His face still looks a little comical because he wasn't expecting it.  
  
"I'm just going to return this to a safer version and tie off the energy so it shouldn't be able to do that anymore." He composes himself and turns toward Yukina, "Could you go and help that poor student, he should just be very, very cold."  
  
He pulls back enough energy so that it is just at the point were it will bloom for the first time and ties off the energy, keeping it in that form until it finds its own nutrients. He leans over to a certain red-haired Ravenclaw girl. "If you pot it today, it should bloom over the weekend." She tries to hide her blush with a nervous smile as she accepts the gift. He grins back at her as he gets up and waits for Yukina to thaw the student and introduce Kuwabara.  
  
"Hey! Kurama, just how many dangerous plants are there in this demon world?" A very bold Gryffindor boy shouted.  
  
Kurama grins mischievously in his direction. "Actually, the correct question would be, 'Are there any plants that ARE NOT dangerous in the demon world?' The answer to that question is one, common grass, but there are roughly 539 species that are merely poisonous to eat. Do any of you know what the Venus Fly Trap is? It used to be a demonic plant by the name of the Venus Man Trap, until some human dragged a seed pod into the human world and it started growing there, after awhile no humans were stupid enough to fall into it, so it started feeding on smaller animals and its name changed."  
  
He fields a few more questions about demonic plants before Yukina gets back up on the platform.  
  
"Okay, um, well, that was very unexpected. Anthony-kun, please accept our apologies. If you wish, Monday you can assist us in the instruction and act as a guinea pig." She smiles hesitantly, "Now, for something that shouldn't hurt you, Kazuma-kun and his materialization techniques!"  
  
"Hey everyone! It is I the Mighty Kuwahara Kazuma, number 1 delinquent of Sarayashiki Junior High! And this is my cool sword thingy!" He summons his spirit sword, "Reiken!"  
  
He smiles broadly and starts posing so the students can see how cool he looks with it. "See, I create it one day while I is fighting this guy with a boken, that's a, Kurama-kun?"  
  
"Wooden sword."  
  
"Yeah that's it, but he uses his reiki to make his sword really tough. I, Kurama-kun?"  
  
"Managed."  
  
"Okay, um, managed to break off the tip of the wooden sword, and then I use it as a, um, Kurama-kun?"  
  
"Medium."  
  
"As a medium for my reiki, making this cool sword. And look, I can do fun things with it: reiken get long!" The spirit sword elongates and hits the stone roof above them. "My reiken is really powerful, and it looks way cool."  
  
Yukina walks up to the front of the stage and begins to speak again, "Thank you Kazuma-kun! Well that's all for today, but on Monday, we will explore the psychic aspects of spirit energy, and on Tuesday, these two brave men will duel, and then I'll heal their injuries." She smiles and starts waving goodbye. A few students stay behind, mostly Ravenclaws, and ask more questions which they happily answer. 


	2. Prologue Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but this idea for a plot and alternate storyline, the characters and places mentioned, except for a few created by me, belong to the creators of either Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter, and any resemblances to people, living or dead, are purely the figment of my, or your imaginations. Oh, and don't sue me; I don't have money, I even have to go to a community college. ^_^  
  
Prologue Part 2  
  
Later that afternoon, Kurama tries to call his mother from his cell phone. However, the object has no power even though the youko is sure that the batteries were freshly charged and good for the next week. He sees a teacher passing by in the hall and decides to ask for help.  
  
"Excuse me, but are there any working phones around here?"  
  
The professor, Kurama believes she teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts or something, laughs before replying, "Muggle electricity and artifacts don't work here, I suggest you read a little more about this school."  
  
On his way to the library, the red head wonders about this school and the many spells placed on it. "You would think a cell phone that worked in Makai would work here too, but I guess that is not true. What else is odd about this school?" He mutters absent-mindedly to himself.  
  
Once in there, Kurama quickly searches the shelves of the very large library, instinctively knowing where the history books are. He finds one that proves to be promising, a new leather bound tome. As he looks for a table to start reading, Kurama spies that beautiful, silky red hair belonging to Michelle. He walks over to her table, leans over slightly and asks casually, "May I sit here, Miss?"  
  
She lifts her head, glancing at him with bright, intelligent blue eyes. He resists the urge to squirm under her intense gaze that seems to peer into his soul. "Of course you may." She smiles politely.  
  
He sits down gracefully, struggling with the impulse to impress her. Kurama opens the book, Hogwarts: A History. After a quick scan, by human terms, the demon finishes absorbing all of the information available in the tome. Michelle looks on with a doubtful expression.  
  
"You couldn't have actually learned anything from that." Again, her eyes pierce into his mind.  
  
"Actually, I learned to speed read when I was thirty. It was most useful as a thief. Five minutes in a library and nobody could figure out what I was researching. Two minutes and I could figure out how to get past any castle's defenses." He just has to brag.  
  
"Really?" Michelle asks skeptically, "Then what's the twenty fourth word on the three hundredth and thirty first page?"  
  
Kurama pauses in thought for a moment before saying confidently, "East." The girl grabs the book and flips through it to find the correct page, and then she stares at him.  
  
"You were wrong," he quirks a brow, "that was the twenty third word, the answer was tower."  
  
The demon gives a disarming smile, "Guess I am not perfect then."  
  
"I hate it when people pretend they are." She smiles back. "So, what kind of demon are you anyway?" Her eyes carry a curious weight, as if there are parts of Kurama that she can't see through.  
  
"Well, I wasn't going to say, because some of the British students might laugh," He begins with a smirk of mock shyness, "but I'm a fox demon. I've heard that the British like to hunt them, so I thought it would be best not to change their misperceptions about the little creatures."  
  
Michelle merely smiles at his joking. "I've heard of foxes, but I've never heard of fox demons, elaborate?" Her curiosity for information, the guiding trait of most Ravenclaws, drives her. Kurama stands up to pick out an aged tome.  
  
"I saw this while I was scanning for the Hogwarts book, you might try to read it." He tosses the large book, an encyclopedia of demons. "It is either too thin to have them all, or too thin to have enough information, so I am not sure if fox demons are in there."  
  
She scans the index, and then looks up with a puzzled look. "It's not in here."  
  
"Try kitsune or youko, they might have it listed under another language." She complies and flips to the correct section.  
  
"Found it." She skims the section silently before noting aloud, "Fox demons and spirits are almost identical to their animal counterparts, and are about as dangerous. Obviously these sub-par demons are far weaker than other canine demons, with the notable exceptions of mother vixens, and the occasional rabid spirit, (see Youko Kurama, under Demonic Thieves). They are well known for their problem solving skills, but are generally as weak as the average human. Just like foxes, many of these demons will choose to mate with the same partner year after year, but they are not always monogamous like humans."  
  
Michelle looks up with her blue gaze. "Rabid?"  
  
Kurama catches himself glaring at the book, "It was written by a human. They rarely get anything right. Most demons are weak, all mothers are fiercely protective of young, they don't mention anything about what real foxes are like, and," he pauses before glaring again, "I was never rabid."  
  
"So, who was he referring to there?"  
  
"Oh, that was myself; however, he never met me. I would have remembered if I had let him..." his soft voice trails off abruptly before resuming, "I mean 'met him' before." She knows that he had wanted to say something else, but does not press the issue.  
  
"So what about the 'Demonic Thieves' section?" She smiles.  
  
"Oh, I used to be a famous thief," he flashes a grin, "I know tales that could chill your bones, make you ill, or excite every nerve in your body."  
  
"Really. And what about this 'voracious sexual appetite'?"  
  
His eyes widen in shock. "You never mentioned that." He accuses calmly as she points to the next paragraph of the book. Upon seeing some of the images on the page, he gently shuts the cover, "Well, it's no wonder that you didn't read it."  
  
"I'm seventeen, it's not like I can't handle it." Michelle blushes when Kurama snorts his reply.  
  
"You are a human; you would never be able to handle it."  
  
He realizes his mistake when the girl glowers at him. "You know I didn't mean it like that." She stalks off without another word, leaving him to wonder why he let himself say that.  
  
Kurama thinks to himself, 'why did I let you say that? Is it because my plan won't allow for the Youko side? Cynicism won't catch her, and aren't I doing this for my youkai self already?' The former thief shakes his head before leaving the library. Shortly afterwards, a mischievous ghost follows after Kurama, a smile on his face.  
  
The next day, Saturday, is the first day of a Hogsmeade weekend. Kurama is in a very grumpy mood. Insisting that they should all check out the town together, Yukina has convinced Kuwabara, Kurama, and all of Kuwabara's Gryffindor friends to go as a group. Let's face it, Kurama scared too many of the Slytherins, so he has no friends.  
  
The walk into the village is very soothing, and his Shuuichi side stops to admire many of the plants along the way. After the tenth time, Yukina starts giggling because he seems to be in a better mood than the last few days. Hogsmeade itself is full of hustle and bustle, and many of the students that had chosen to stay for the holiday. After a short trip to the Three Broomsticks, a treat store, and a few other places, Kurama has managed to fill his pockets and other hidden places with loot. He has also managed to lose Kuwabara and Yukina by stopping in the local bookstore.  
  
As he goes to pick up another book, he purposefully bumps into a red-haired Ravenclaw, though it seems to have been an accident. She glares at him, "You." Kurama decides that he only has a few more chances left to win her.  
  
He blushes slightly, a calculated move, and says shyly, "Michelle? I wanted to apologize for the other day; I'm sorry." In his mind, Kurama is repeating the word "accept" over and over again. Her glare softens slightly, as though she really wasn't mad at him, so he continues by trying to explain his behavior. "It's just that, you remind me of a youko, because of your hair," at least this part is true, and he can smell the wonderful aroma clearly, "and youko hair is really silky, and gorgeous like yours," and the tricky part, "but I have to remember that you are still a human, like I have become, and if I'm not careful I could hurt you. And then you'd hate me." He thinks 'I never realized that I speak so crudely around her, I never use contractions.'  
  
"Really? So is that why you don't look like a fox demon?" She asks, but her eyes are searching for something, sincerity perhaps.  
  
He smiles his casual perfect son smile, "Yeah, if you'd like it, I could tell you my human life's story over one of those butter beer things." As they walked to the Three Broomsticks, Kurama sings a short ditty in his head, 'Ditching my friends, to seduce a girl, that only wants me for what I can teach her, something. Something. Something? How the hell would this go with a tune?'  
  
Michelle picks a table near the back, and both she and Kurama sit down with their first round of drinks. He starts describing his past life, and his death. "After that, I sent my spirit into the Ningenkai, I mean, human world, and I found a host body. This Japanese woman was pregnant, and it hadn't received a soul yet, so I kinda took the fetus over, and a few months later she gave birth to me. I had all of my old memories, so it was really weird being in a form that I had very little control of. It was really awkward since I wasn't a child, and my mother kept treating me like one."  
  
Kurama was almost laughing, but his voice grew subdued at his next thought, "and I despised her for so long, it took me ten years to accept her. That was only 'cause she protected me when this stack of plates fell. She has scars all over her hands because she took me to the doctor first. And then she got sick and woulda died if I hadn't stolen this artifact." He forces a smile out as he describes how he and Kuwabara met through this other boy named Yuusuke, and how he met Yukina and became friends with another demon.  
  
"Yuusuke and Hiei are in the demon world right now, and I doubt Hiei's gonna leave. He's got a job with this really powerful demon. Yuusuke's training for a few years, and then he's gonna come back and stay with his girlfriend. Turns out he was part demon, and that second time he died, well, you know 'cause I already told you."  
  
Michelle's eyes have been focused solely upon his for the entire time, and finally she responds. "That's amazing! So your friend Hiei is actually Yukina's brother?" Kurama finally realizes the entirety of what was said, and how long they had been talking.  
  
"Kuso! I wasn't supposed to tell you about that." He slaps his forehead with the palm of his right hand, "Promise you won't tell Yukina, or Hiei might kill us both?"  
  
She giggles an affirmative. Kurama smiles, then he leans forward slowly to brush a lingering yet soft kiss onto her lips. Blushing, Michelle blinks at him for a few seconds before averting her gaze shyly. She attempts to restart the conversation, "So, is there anything that you'd like to know?"  
  
"I'd like to know more about you," he replies, "what are you going to do after you graduate from Hogwart's?"  
  
Her eyes grow thoughtful. "I was thinking of working for the Ministry of Magic like my mother and father. Well, not as an auror like my father, or in the muggle departments like my mother, but I've been hoping that I could get into the Department of Mysteries or Artifacts."  
  
"What exactly is an auror?"  
  
Michelle explains, "Aurors try to solve crimes and capture or kill monsters and evil wizards. I'm worried a little about my father; I haven't heard anything from him lately because he's trying to capture 'You-Know-Who', and the last ten that have been sent after him died or disappeared." At Kurama's quirked eyebrow, she continues, "We can't say his real name because, well, he might hear it. He's a very powerful and evil wizard, and he's killed a lot of humans so far."  
  
Kurama's conscience pulls at him, wasn't there something he was supposed to do on this trip besides teach and flirt? However, he couldn't care less about some human killing more right now, not when he could see the slight bit of fear in those beautiful blue eyes.  
  
Before he can ask what was wrong, it obviously has to do with her father and this evil wizard, she speaks again. "Let's go back to the school now." He starts walking her back to the castle, but they pause for a minute outside the village. She suddenly flings herself into his arms, tears falling down her face. Kurama allows her to bury her head against his shoulder as he wraps his arms around her comfortingly. Minutes later, she stands back up and with a quick brush of her sleeve all traces of tears have left except for the slightly reddish tinge of her face.  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm just worried about my father." She looks up at him apologetically, "I didn't mean to, to, to worry or embarrass you." Her stammer surprises them both, but Kurama grasps her hand, giving it one small squeeze, before resuming their walk.  
  
After dinner that same evening, Yukina tries to reprimand Kurama for his behavior and she suggests that they meet in the library to discuss the information they have found. However, Kurama reaches the library first, and then discovers he has other plans for the evening. Michelle is there, and he easily convinces her to take a walk in the halls with him. By the time Kuwabara and Yukina arrive there, only a few students, working on holiday homework remain.  
  
Elsewhere, Kurama and Michelle are wandering the halls sharing swigs from a green glass bottle. Giggling, she says, "You are a thief, I never realized they had some serious wines in the kitchen."  
  
Kurama, unaffected by the alcohol, asks, "So, when is our curfew?" He guides the girl down a different corridor to avoid the janitor's cat.  
  
"Oh, um, nine, I think." She giggles some more and adds, "It's only seven right now. That's two hours before we have to be in our rooms." She stands on tiptoe to reach him, giving him a short, alcohol-laden kiss. "I don't care if you're a Slytherin here, I like you."  
  
He grins at her, glad that he remembered that if a girl was too sensible for certain things sober, she most likely wasn't when drunk. Mentally slapping himself, the saner side of his mind thinks 'I do not want to take advantage of her, and I do not want to hurt her, so why am I doing this?' His youko side reminds himself that he wants her at all costs. 'Great, I can't even fight my own desires anymore, just great. What would Mother say?' '"Shuuichi, how could you do such a thing?" Heh, heh. She's not here, is she.' 'Shut up!' 'You shut up.' 'You are on crack!' 'You only noticed her hair, I noticed everything else too.' 'Kisama, get that picture out of my head!' 'You just called yourself a bastard, moron.'  
  
Michelle's voice brings him back to reality. "We're here!"  
  
"Where?"  
  
She points to a small splotch on the floor, a dark blue stain. Michelle says in a slightly high pitch, childishly chipper voice, "That's a signal I made in my third year here. It appears only when I'm around, so it won't get washed out by Mr. Filch. I put it there because.... Don't tell me, I'll remember. Because this is the hall with the Room of Requirements!"  
  
Kurama watches with great amusement as she skips up and down the hall a few times, mumbling something unintelligible even to his sensitive ears. She stops when a door appears suddenly in the wall opposite the demon. He almost jumped when it came out of nothing, almost.  
  
She clutches his left hand to drag him inside the mysterious portal. Inside is an oddly furnished bedroom. Against one wall, a large four-post canopy bed rests, the same color as Michelle's eyes. Opposite the bed is an open door leading into a small bathroom inside the main room. From what he could see, that room was mostly taken up with a large bathtub set even with the floor.  
  
Seeing the questioning look on his face, Michelle says, "I thought about a room like this as I went up and down the hall, and so the Room of Requirements fitted itself to match my, I mean, our needs."  
  
Even the side that seemed more human couldn't help but grin slyly as Kurama pulls the human girl in for a longer, deeper kiss than before. He pulls away after a moment, waiting for her response. She just looks back at him with a slightly hungry gaze.  
  
"I want to know what it's like to," She pauses, struggling to find the right words to express her emotions, "make love with a human demon."  
  
Kurama, about to kiss her again, halts a few inches from her head. He thinks about her choice of words before saying very clearly, "I don't love you." Her eyes grow wide, but he continues on, "It takes a lot for me to start loving someone like that. I'm just weird like that I guess, but I do like you. I do think you are beautiful and intelligent, two qualities that I admire greatly. But make no illusions, this relationship will most likely not go very deep, or last longer than my stay here. I just want you while I can have you, and if you are okay with that, if you don't mind knowing that I don't love you, and I don't want your love either, then, and only then, can we continue." His demonic half starts remembering a particularly colorful string of curses, and can't help but think 'there used to be a time when I would say whatever was needed to mate with a pretty demon, but no, my sense of honor has to ruin all of my chances. Shuuichi, you are a very stupid conscience.'  
  
Michelle blinks those dazzling blue eyes before hugging him around the shoulders. "I just want to be with you tonight, and learn what it's like. I don't care."  
  
With that clear, Kurama kisses her again, all the while thinking about how to get the cursed robe off of her. A few minutes later, a pile of clothes lies next to the bed, and Michelle takes the last drop of wine before sitting down next to the demon. "Why did you say I couldn't handle a demon? Too bad you can't turn into your yo, youk.... your demon form now." She slurs.  
  
In a moment, she is pinned by a rough, fanged kiss. "I've just been waiting for permission." She reflexively smacks one of his wandering hands, his other tangles in her hair. "Hm, silky, and I don't just mean your hair." She giggles at the compliment, forcing him to obey one last rule from his human form. "I must inform you that this could hurt, actually, it will hurt. A lot. But I promise that I'll make it feel good anyways."  
  
"I don't care," was all she could reply before being overtaken by the very horny, not to be mistaken for horned, fox demon.  
  
Unbeknownst to them, Peeves the ghost is looking for Kurama, and hoping that the boy wouldn't notice if he suddenly came upon him because that demon seemed to be able to sense where ghosts were. He floats up and down the same hall, wondering where the red haired youth could have gotten to when a door suddenly reveals itself in front of him. Using the fact that he was mostly immaterial, the ghost peeks through the door silently. Pulling back quickly, Peeves mutters, "Bloody hell! I've got to tell the Bloody Baron and Dumbledore!"  
  
An hour and a half later found Michelle fingering long silky strands of silver hair. Youko Kurama lies next her, fingering the new mark on her neck. His golden eyes gaze down the visible length of her body, to where she still has one leg wrapped around his, before coming back up to rest on her own blue eyes.  
  
"Why'd you bite me?" She asks softly, only a little less drunk. "It kinda hurt, but, why?"  
  
The demon smirks as he leans over her ear to whisper his answer, "It's just a mark. I'm used to doing that sort of thing because it tells others not to touch you unless they want to die. It will go away soon, if I'm not around to keep it there." She holds back a sigh, but he notices anyway.  
  
"You're a very sexy rabbit, but it's about time I got you back to your dorm." He traces Michelle's chin line before standing and putting his clothes back on.  
  
"I liked your tail." She stands also as he returns to his human form. They walk out in a moment, fully clothed, and Kurama, ever the gentleman, walks Michelle back to the Ravenclaw common room. He kisses her gently before stalking off to the Slytherin common room.  
  
Before going to sleep that night, Kurama mutters to himself low enough so that no one else can hear, "Either it has been way too long since I have been laid, or she was really that good, but I am going to have to say that was one of the high points of this life."  
  
The next few days passed by in the blur that all good times seem to go in. The next day it snowed. Kurama and Michelle ditched the second Hogsmeade day after an hour to spend more time alone in the Room of Requirements. Kurama switched off with his human and demon forms after every time. When Monday came, Yukina tried to yell at him with that soft, sweet voice of hers, but then they had to do another demonstration. Only one student wasn't shocked to see the cold and ruthless Youko Kurama that day. Finally, it was the last day that Kurama, Yukina, and Kuwabara would be at Hogwart's, and they had to say goodbye to all of their new friends.  
  
Kurama lies on his back in the garden, holding the red haired Ravenclaw girl to his chest. They watch the clouds form and get swept up by the wind. The snow beneath them has contoured to their bodies, but Kurama uses his body heat to keep Michelle warm. With a hint of sadness, he says, "This is my last day. I'll be leaving... tonight." He had to fight hard to keep the word "You" from entering that last phrase.  
  
"I know." She turns around to face him, a lone tear streaking down her cold reddened face. "Will I ever be with you again?"  
  
"I told you not to fall in love." Kurama says coldly before softening, "Michelle-chan, there's something I have to tell you."  
  
"You're married? You're gay? You're dying? What?" She responds upset.  
  
"No." For once, he struggles to find the right words to say. "I like you, a lot. A lot more than I should. I decided that I would stay human for my mother, until she grows old and dies. But that would be very lonely for me, since I can't just have any demon I want to wait it out with me. And I can't just go and marry some human to make my mother happy. But you're different. I think that, maybe I could like being with you for a few years, until I can return to my true form in the Makai. If you want of course."  
  
She looks off into the snow, thinking about what Kurama had just said. That was the closest the demon has ever been to saying, "I love you", but it would still mean being only a friend to him, merely a friend with benefits. "I don't know. I'll have to think about it Kurama."  
  
He gets an idea, "Do you know how to use a telephone?"  
  
"I don't have one at home, if that's what you mean."  
  
"But surely you can find a payphone in a muggle city," He pulls a roll of coins out of his pocket. "This is British currency, I never leave home without some money for emergencies. If you go to London or somewhere, you can follow the directions on the payphone and use this money to call me." He pauses to find a pen and paper so that he can write down his number. "You put the money in, then press the numbers in this order. That should call my cell phone, but just in case," He writes down two names on the piece of paper, "Ask for Shuuichi, since that's my human name. If you are interested in coming to Japan to visit me, just call me and then maybe...." He leaves it at that, but his green eyes have a hopeful look to them.  
  
She smiles, thinking things through in her head, "I'll try, and if I can't figure it out, I can always ask somebody for help." She kisses him softly. "Just don't forget about me."  
  
By dinnertime, the two youkai and Kuwabara were gone. Floo powder whisked them back to Genkai's temple in Japan. Kurama was left with the blissful memories of Michelle, but a debriefing by Koenma still awaited him.  
  
"So everyone, what did you learn?" The toddler prince asks in Japanese. He floats even with everyone's eyes as they kneel around a short table sipping hot tea in Genkai's temple.  
  
Yukina looks at her blue kimono, her pale blue-green bangs obscuring her crimson-as-blood eyes. "Kurama learned how to seduce a human," she mutters softly in English with a hint of sadness. Only Kurama hears her.  
  
"What was that Yukina?" Koenma asks.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I said I learned about this Voldemort-sama from the students." This time she replies in Japanese.  
  
"Yeah! He's been killing a lot of people, especially those without magic or those whose parents don't have it." Kuwabara adds helpfully.  
  
Koenma looks at Kurama, "So, what have you found? Did you discover where he hides? Did you find any of his worshippers, or where they meet?"  
  
Paling, Kurama racks his brain for anything he may have heard about this Voldemort person. "Um, most people call him "You-know-who" and the aurors from the Ministry of Magic are after him. But he's very powerful and evil, so most have died. The aurors are kind of like spirit detectives, but weaker possibly."  
  
Yukina interjects, wondering how the demon could have learned anything while leading that poor girl around by her nose, "The Death Eaters should be easily distinguished from normal wizards, because they carry the Dark Mark, a skull tattoo, on their arms."  
  
"There was also something about a prophecy, but I couldn't find out any more because the students didn't know about it either." Kuwabara says.  
  
"Hm, well, I'll think about that for now." Koenma sucks on his pacifier as he rubs his chin with one hand, "But my father says we can't send any detectives in to capture the Voldemort-sama without a request by the Ministry unless he becomes a demon somehow, which should never happen. Well, that will be all for now. See you all later." The prince of the dead turns immaterial before floating through the ceiling on his way back to Reikai.  
  
Kurama stretches as he stands up. Yawning slightly, "Well, I think I am going home to get some sleep. How about you Kuwahara?" Rising, the orange haired boy nods. "Oh, and for your information Yukina, I liked that girl, and I tried very hard not to hurt her."  
  
"I know, Kurama-kun, but you were acting weird, and you didn't seem to be thinking clearly." She looks down at her lap.  
  
A hand pats her on the head, "Don't worry, it is natural for me to act this way. December is when kitsune start looking for mates, after all."  
  
"Um, guys? What are you talking about? What girl?" A harsh, manly voice comes from Kuwabara. The two demons look at him for a moment before sighing.  
  
"Nothing Kuwahara, nothing at all." Kurama ends before they both leave for the train station.  
  
Next chapter: Will Michelle ever call Kurama? Where the hell is Kuronue? Will Michelle ever marry Kurama? And can a five year old fit under the seats of a bus and not be found? And will anybody really care about finishing reading this? Not bloody likely I'd say. 


	3. A Flock of Sheep in Wolves' Clothing

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but this idea for a plot and alternate storyline, the characters and places mentioned, except for a few created by me, belong to the creators of either Yu Yu Hakusho, Hello Kitty, Inu Yasha (slight reference) or Harry Potter, and the Myrddraal and trollocs (slight reference next chapter) belong to Robert Jordan (the author of The Wheel of Time books), the lines from Stellaluna belong to Janell Cannon (who wrote the story, and please don't sue me for not writing for permission first), I do not own Matilda either, and any resemblances to people, living or dead, are purely the figment of my, or your imaginations. Oh, and don't sue me; I don't have money, I even have to go to a community college. ^_^  
  
That's right! It's time to say goodbye to the prologue, and it's Mary Sue-esque character in favor of introducing the real characters more. Only, they won't be the characters you think, nope... Hiei's next chapter, and he isn't really the focus... and Kurama only makes a highlight here... Yusuke and Harry? Why should we care about them? I'm not introducing characters that almost everyone knows about, just the additions that won't quite be main characters for the actual plot. Yes, in this respect, the shear amount of supporting characters will be just as bad as in Yu Yu Hakusho or Inu Yasha. But hey, they'll be fun all the same. Now, to get rid of Miss Ravenclaw here.... Let's see... poison, rope, knife, shotgun, sword, pistol, demon, Myrddraal, trollocs, fundamentalist bombers, plastic explosives, touch of death, medical complications, spell gone awry.... so many choices, so few people. Oh yeah, and I'm thinking of changing the name to something snappier.  
  
Chapter One: A Herd of Sheep in Wolves' Clothing  
  
Michelle awoke with a groan, her soft red hair laying in sweaty clumps on her cotton pillow. The Ravenclaw girl shared her room with three others, each with their own canopy bed. Lelandra, who had imported silk sheets that she slipped out of as she would her expensive silk nightshift, hurried to the moaning girl's side.  
  
"Oh no, two nights in a row. Michelle, I really doubt it was food poisoning from that cake your mother sent you." The rich girl with midnight black hair set in curlers said as she beckoned for help from the others. Her right arm lay around Michelle's shoulders, holding her upright and preparing to hold her hair back. A short tanned girl with rather plain brown hair moved a pail so that the ill girl could throw up.  
  
Cathy sat upon her bed still, musing with her chocolate brown hands folded into a steeple under her chin. "You are right," her analytical mind started, "if it was the food, we'd all be sick. And she hadn't had anything to eat last night. Her illness seemed temporary yesterday, since it stopped in time for first class."  
  
Michelle, who was wiping off her lips with a handkerchief, halted her before she could add another word. "Don't say it. I don't want to hear those words." She spoke with a glare.  
  
"Michelle, don't worry, we all know it couldn't be that. I'm just thinking that these symptoms are remarkably similar to...." Again the dark skinned Ravenclaw was cut off.  
  
"No! It's not that!"  
  
As the plain tan girl, Susan, picked up a brush for her hair, she finished Cathy's thought. "Morning sickness. I searched the library during all of my breaks and I found nothing else similar to your symptoms." She sat down cross-legged on her bed and began brushing.  
  
With a smirk at her friend's moan at hearing those words, Lelandra began brushing Michelle's hair for her. "We all need to get dressed and prepare for breakfast. Michelle and I will be a few minutes late though, because I am taking her to Madame Pomfrey as soon as we are both presentable. We need to find out what is wrong with her because if she keeps missing breakfast like yesterday, her grades will start to drop and we have N.E.W.T.s to think of." Michelle tried to make a sound of protest to the idea, but the sound quickly denatured into a second lunge for the bucket.  
  
As Lelandra patted the poor girl on the back, Susan pondered aloud, "Why doesn't she want to see Madame Pomfrey, it can't be morning sickness because she's still a virgin, right?"  
  
All she received was a sharp glare. "What? It's not like that's a bad thing, why I'm the only one here who has ever managed to get a boy into a closet." The silence was deafening, the other girls were awaiting Michelle's defense, but it never came. Eventually, Susan squeaked out an "Oh lord!"  
  
"Who? When? Where? How the heck did you keep Filch from finding you?" Cathy asked with a look of mischief in her dark eyes. Almost reluctantly, Lelandra resumed brushing the red locks very slowly.  
  
"Do you remember Christmas Break?" Knowledge flashed within the three pairs of eyes. The girls started to dress in silence, and as Lelandra pulled out her curlers, Susan managed to blurt out a question about whether or not the human-like demon was good in bed. Michelle groaned all the way to the hospital wing.  
  
Madam Pomfrey looked up after examining the girl's abdomen. The room was a sterile white color, complete with the smell of healing herbs. Opaque curtains separated the patients' beds, but Michelle could distinctly hear the sound of at least two people crying in pain. Somewhere in that room was a young boy yelling about being burned in Potions Class. However, the woman in charge of Hogwarts's healing was almost glaring down at her, just with a sad expression.  
  
"I'm going to have to tell your parents, and Dumbledore that you are a month pregnant." She muttered another part under her breath, "We've only had five pregnancies in the history of Hogwarts, and you just had to make yourself the sixth."  
  
"I'm sorry," the red haired girl whined softly, "but I didn't know any anti-pregnancy charms, and I didn't think...."  
  
The adult rudely cut her off, "That's right! You didn't think. But hopefully you are skinny enough to hide this until after you graduate, Ravenclaw! Now sit tight, it's a good thing I shooed away your friends or they'd tell the whole school. I'm going to see Dumbledore and I expect you to stay right here until I come back."  
  
Holding back tears, Michelle didn't plan on staying right there. As soon as the healer left the room, she lifted her wand and commanded, "Accio Cleansweep." Her old broom came as commanded, and after opening a small window, she climbed out and flew off in the general direction of the nearest muggle village.  
  
She flew through the harsh January snowfall and high into the frigid clouds. Using her wand, Michelle worked a complex spell to heat her dark robes so that she would not freeze. An hour or so later she landed in a deserted alley and used a spell to disguise her robes as winter muggle clothing and her broom as a walking stick.  
  
She quickly found a red metal and glass booth with the word "Telephone" written on it in large white paint. It was warmer inside it, but her knees felt weak, and she looked at the muggle technology warily. Scanning with a sharp eye, she read the directions on the phone.  
  
"I have some muggle change," She started talking to herself in a rush, thinking aloud to organize her thoughts, "but I don't remember how many pounds to use. I'll just put in all I have and hope it is enough." Her small temper flared as she remembered how hard it was to find the muggle currency. "And, I put it in, and pick up the phone, and press the buttons." She fumbled through her robe pockets, looking for the small slip of paper with the number on it. Once found, she dialed hesitantly. Holding the phone awkwardly, and incorrectly near her head, she listened for a sound. "Ringing... this must be a good thing, yes?" The ringing of the phone halted, and she determined which end to put to her ear. A woman's monotonous voice started talking on the other end, all in a foreign language. "Um, hello? I need to talk to... Shuuichi?" She remembered at the last second to use Kurama's other name. The voice continued without emotion. "Shuuichi? Is Shuuichi there?" The voice never faltered, and Michelle regretfully hung up, listening to the clicks as change fell into a little pocket on the machine.  
  
The girl sank to her knees on the dirty floor of the miniature building with tears springing from her eyes.  
  
Two weeks earlier (it is assumed that all dialogue in this part is in Japanese):  
  
Signaling silently to his partner, a tall and thin red haired young man sighed mentally. He was in such a beautiful forest, with such lovely foliage, and yet the only sounds were of the wind brushing past leaves and the soft crunches of his partner's feet. Even without sensing the demonic energy or the scent of human blood, both Kurama and Kuwabara knew their quarry was near.  
  
He stopped, his green eyes flashing as he sends a mental signal to his young companion. The boy, only a year younger than him, was tall, but bulky with goofy orange hair. With a wistful smile Kurama remembered something another friend had said about Kuwabara, that the carrot-top was a moron. Hiei was always funny like that. He shook his head quickly to refocus. Holding up one finger, he slowly moved it to point toward their prey, and quietly both boys moved to attack the demon.  
  
Kurama sauntered into the clearing calmly, while Kuwabara edged in ten feet away with a glower. A rather ugly demon with five horns in its forehead, holes for ears, red tinged skin and long tusk-like fangs sat on a tree stump with a dead deer lying nearby as he munched idly on a human arm.  
  
"So," Kurama started out diplomatically, "You are Gyukuru, are you not?"  
  
"Yup, and soon as I'm done with this I'm gonna have fun gnawin' on yer bones, detectives." A hoarse, rasping, low-pitched voice came from the grotesque mouth.  
  
Kuwabara made a suppressed retching sound, "I'm gonna throw up, but after we kill you, bastard!" He said bravely as he summons his orange spirit sword. He barely managed to duck the severed human arm the monster threw at him. Gyukuru picked up a spiked wooden club.  
  
Kurama stood there waiting patiently for Kuwabara to finish his attempt at a fight with the monster. After the initial charge by both the human and the demon, the red monster swung his club like a baseball bat, and for once Kuwabara managed to duck under the assault, his sword neatly slicing the monster in two.  
  
"Um, Kurama? Do you think that might have been too easy?" Kuwabara looked like an anvil had fallen on his head as he pondered how the fight ended so quickly.  
  
"Perhaps the demon patrols in Makai are finally having an impact." The former fox demon thief said quietly in a somber tone, right before a pale green object erupted out of the opposite end of the clearing to clip him in the right side of his chest. Luckily Kurama managed to twist around so the blow was only grazing, but his clean off-white button-up shirt was slightly shredded. His breast pocket was removed fully, and its contents lay strewn on the ground broken.  
  
Both detectives back off into the tree line, awaiting the arrival of this much stronger demon. Kuwabara shouted a warning that the damn thing had masked its energy. The red haired youko looks to the pile of junk on the ground, and saw his beloved cell-phone smashed to bits. Only one very complex thought entered his mind, Michelle had only that number, and he couldn't get a phone with the same number.  
  
"You fuckin' destroyed my almighty, inter-dimensional, gods damned cell-phone!" He roared as his eyes flashed golden.  
  
Poor Kuwabara had rarely seen a slaughter as horrible as this. By the time the demon charged into the clearing with its thick, whip-like tentacles, Kurama had already finished transforming into the cruel fox demon, Youko Kurama. His enigmatically cold eyes glared murder as the wind blew his soft silver hair. And every plant in the clearing, from the grass and surrounding trees to the flowers and hastily thrown mix of demonic seeds, tore apart the tentacle monster. Pale green flesh was torn from muscle and yellow fat, which was in turn torn from tendons and bones. Organs were ripped into pieces, and blood ran in purple rivulets on the ground. Kuwabara finally got to throw up.  
  
After he was done, the carrot top wiped a hand haggardly across his mouth as he looked warily at his friend. "Why the hell did you go berserk?" He managed to squeak out carefully.  
  
Cold eyes stared back at him as Kurama shifted back to his human form. Wiping off the dead demon's violet blood from his cheek, his clothes would need a good washing, he stated calmly, "He pissed me off. Someone was supposed to call me on that phone." That day, Kuwabara swore to never break anything that belonged to the fox demon.  
  
Back in the phone booth:  
  
Michelle dried her eyes with the sleeve of her robe as she thought 'I'm not getting anywhere like this, I might as well find a library and learn Japanese.' She rose determinedly and entered the snowy world. Her sharp eyes quickly found the nearest library. She shook off the snow as she entered, and headed to the non-fiction section. Finding a promising green hard-back, she sat down to learn how to introduce herself in Japanese and ask for another person.  
  
"Watashi wa... watashi wa... and what else?" She mused aloud. A dashing blonde haired man, the library assistant by his nametag, overheard her.  
  
"Need help with anything?" He smiled. She shook her head casually. "Learning Japanese, fun language, I'm taking that right now at the university." She glanced at him a second time.  
  
"Really?" She paused, searching his light brown eyes. "I'm supposed to call my friend, he speaks English fine, but he lives in Japan, and I couldn't figure out what that telephone was doing because the woman was talking in Japanese." She summarizes quickly.  
  
"Hm, maybe I can help you, lets try using the library phone." They walked over to the front desk, and he dialed for her. She could hear as the same female voice answered, but then the nice guy hung up the phone quickly without saying a word.  
  
He looked thoughtful for a moment, "I'm sorry, that was a recording. Apparently the number is out of use or disconnected. You will need to call him with a different number."  
  
She almost started to cry again as she stammered out, "But, that's the only number I have."  
  
The man almost reached out to touch her shoulder with concern, "I'm sorry, but I don't have any Japanese phonebooks, and you'd need to know what section of the city he lived in. Um, was he your boyfriend?"  
  
"Well, not yet, but I was hoping...." Her mind is busy analyzing the situation. "He had a very loudmouth friend. 'I'm the mighty Kuwahara Kazuma, number 1 delinquent at Sarayashiki Junior High,' I think, if I can find that school, I can just go to Japan, ask where that boy is, and ask him where Kurama is."  
  
The brunette nods with a thoughtful look on his face, "That could work, here, let's see if there are any maps of Tokyo and Kyoto here."  
  
When Michelle returned from her trip, flying back through the window into the medical ward, she was confronted with accusatory glares from both Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey. However, she had a plan for her future. After graduation, she would fly to Japan, find Kurama's dimwitted friend, and tell Kurama about the pregnancy. First though, she would have to tell her own family.  
  
Her parents took it surprisingly well. Dumbledore took Michelle to his office so that she could use the fire to communicate with her parents. Bright flames in the shape of her father's face were all she could really see as the Ravenclaw girl said, "Daddy? I'm pregnant, and the father is on the other side of the world in ignorance."  
  
His fiery eyes grew wide, "No! Absolutely not! You are too young and there will be no more babies in this house."  
  
"But Daddy, it's too late for that." She grew worried when the head suddenly disappeared, and she called after him. Her mother's face appeared, soft despite harsh light of the flames.  
  
"Don't worry dear, he had a dizzy spell. I just told him that I'm four months pregnant. I've been waiting for an opportunity to tell him." She said calmly.  
  
"Mom, you told us three months ago. Are you saying you didn't tell Daddy just because he went into that big fit when you asked if he wanted another?" The girl's tone was almost exasperated.  
  
Her mother smiled benignly. "You can make it through to graduation, and then we can figure out what to do. Want me to send you some chocolate covered pickles? Or maybe some haggis covered in Pixi Stix?"  
  
"Ew mom, no thanks."  
  
"Okay, we'll see you in a few months then." The fire died down, leaving the pretty little red haired girl alone.  
  
Almost a year later, December 17:  
  
Michelle sat rocking her two-and-a-half-month-old baby. The tiny girl had the chubbiest little hands, and the chubbiest little cheeks, the softest hair in a shade of red so light it could almost pass as pink, and she was utterly adorable. And for once the thing was quiet. Her wail reached every ear in the village and when she wasn't wailing, she was whimpering or giving off a high-pitch whine.  
  
Even though the witch had been woken in the middle of the night be one of her child's more ear-shattering cries, she enjoyed rocking the baby in her arms as it fed. The baby opened one eye to look at her, one odd-shaded green eye with just a hint of gold in it. Michelle's parents had been surprised when their granddaughter's eyes changed from baby blue to that eerie green in just days. The midwife had been surprised to find the newborn staring at her, especially since human babies were not supposed to be able to focus their eyes for weeks if not months.  
  
'Headmaster Dumbledore warned me you would be an odd child.' She thought to herself as she smiled down. 'He was worried you might have fox ears and a tail, but then you would have been too cute.' No, the baby looked normal at first glance, if you ignored the tooth coming in already, and the eyes that seemed far too intelligent. "At least no one will hunt you down for being a demon's child, Kit." She spoke aloud.  
  
The little one's name was Kitsune, after a word her father had used to describe his race of demons, for that was the Japanese word for fox. Kit was a really cute nickname in her opinion, when it could be short for both Kitsune and kit fox. She thought it was very appropriate considering the baby's heritage.  
  
The baby's eyes closed as it continued feeding, and Michelle looked out of the window to see her village. It was the same old magic village she had been born in herself, and just two doors away was her parents' house. They had helped her find a job in the Ministry of Magic shortly after she graduated from Hogwart's, and now her mother watched Kitsune and Michelle's new baby brother, Kyle, during the day. Her father and a few of the villagers had helped to build her this small cottage. In a few months she would journey with Kit to see the baby's father, Kurama, in Japan. She would have left already, but it would be a while before the Ministry would give her a paid vacation.  
  
She sighed as she absently stroked Kitsune's cheek, but a flash of light quickly turned her attention back to the window. An eerie glow surrounded the image of a skull in the sky above the village. She shuddered before realizing something, "The Dark Mark, it's right above my parents' house!"  
  
Scrambling for her wand, Michelle secured the baby into a wooden cradle, and ran outside to find her family. Ignoring the cries of her baby that resounded in her ears, she rounded a neighboring house to see her father facing five Death Eaters. She, and several other neighbors awoken by the unusually loud wails charged into the fight blindly.  
  
High above the village, somehow untouched by the smoke of burning houses, a Reikai ferry girl rode her oar back into the heavens. The blue haired grim reaper, Botan, was happily chatting in a one sided conversation with her only passenger. "I like you wizard people; you never get scared of my flying. Now those other people, well some try to throw up even though they are already dead!" Behind her sat a silent see through ghost with red hair and the saddest blue eyes that looked as though tears were still dripping from them. The air around them was filled with the servants of death transporting the souls of the dead.  
  
"You know, you are very quiet for being dead, most argue with me trying to say they are still alive." The ferry girl looked back to see her passenger. "Oh dear me, what's wrong?"  
  
"My entire family except for my daughter was killed. And her father doesn't even know she's alive. And I'm dead." The soul was looking down upon her former village, and her voice was almost as distant as the cries of people below.  
  
"I wouldn't say your 'entire' family."  
  
The blue eyes flashed to scan her face for a second before returning to the village, "So somebody is still alive down there?"  
  
"Bingo! You are correct! You still have two little brothers alive. I think," she pauses with a finger to her cheek, "I think that your five year old brother Andy was at a friend's house, and your mother hid Kyle in a closet. The villagers should have found him before the house burnt down."  
  
The soul merely nodded before saying, "That is good, but Kurama still doesn't know about his daughter." She didn't notice as Botan almost fell off of the oar.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't hear that name right, I thought you said Kurama, but that's just because I know a guy by that name."  
  
The ferry girl could feel the suspicious blue eyes boring holes into her skull. "That is his name, but you wouldn't know him because he lives far away."  
  
"Japan?" Botan felt the soul tense behind her, "That is where I am from, I'm just here to help with the unusual amount of sudden deaths caused by this Voldemort person."  
  
"Maybe you do know him then." A pause, then a whispered, almost fearful remark, "I tried to call his cell phone like he asked, and I asked for Shuuichi just like he said, but all I got was this woman that spoke in Japanese, no matter what I tried."  
  
"Kisama! Now I'm certain we are talking about the same Kurama. How the hell did that happen? And I'm sure his mother would give him the phone if...."  
  
The bubbly grim reaper was cut off by a snort, "It wasn't his mother, it was a recording, and the person I asked said his phone was disconnected, whatever that is."  
  
"But still, he hasn't had a girlfriend since Maya years ago, and I'm certain Koenma would have heard about it before now...."  
  
"I wasn't really his girlfriend. I think it was because he was a fox demon, and foxes mate in the winter. He just wanted me to call if I was interested in having a relationship."  
  
Botan had continued talking, but still heard this part, "...I never thought he'd start preying on helpless young women, especially if they were human. He's going to get a severe talking to, maybe I should tell his mother! And according to what you just said, he was on that Hogwart's mission on top of everything!"  
  
The soul waited for the irate grim reaper to slow down before asking a favor, "Could you tell Kurama that I'm dead? And ask him if he would take in Kit, or if his mother would. He said she was a good mother."  
  
Those sad blue eyes tugged at Botan's heart. "I'll do what I can." She decided as they entered the spirit world.  
  
The next day found Botan floating on her oar above a nice house in the suburbs of Tokyo. With a deep breath and a curse to her boss, she swept down into a bedroom where a fox demon disguised as a human sat reading a Shakespearean play.  
  
"Ohayo Kurama! We need to talk." She began with a quick glance to the closed door.  
  
"Ohayo. Botan, why are you speaking in English?" The handsome red head asked quietly.  
  
"Well, I don't want your family to overhear us talking, just pretend you are reading aloud from that book and since they don't know English themselves things should be fine." She looked unusually nervous to Kurama.  
  
"Botan, they aren't home. Shuuchi is at a movie and my mother and step father are at work."  
  
"Oh, well then." She paused and tapped her foot while she thought about what to say next. "Um, Koenma and I foundoutaboutthatstudentyousleptwith on the Hogwart's mission last year, becauseshedied." It took a moment for Kurama to comprehend her extremely fast and slurred together chatter.  
  
"What?"  
  
"She was killed yesterday." The ferry girl was almost scuffling her feet and she refused to make contact with his normally breathtaking eyes. "She wanted me to tell you that she tried to call and that there was a lot of things she wanted you to know."  
  
Kurama realized that he had stood up, so he forced himself back onto the mattress. "Must have been after that damn demon obliterated my cell phone, I should have...." He allowed the thought lie there, as they remained silent for a moment. "Who killed her?"  
  
Botan made a minute shake of her head, "It was a human Kurama, I can't tell you anymore than that." Of course Koenma feared Kurama might want revenge, especially if he reasoned out why the fox demon had been so distraught over losing a phone.  
  
"Funeral?"  
  
"In three days at Merlin Cemetery. Koenma won't let you go to it though."  
  
"Wasn't planning on it, I just want to say goodbye."  
  
"Avoid crowds."  
  
"Okay." Botan took a cautious glance at her friend and was surprised to see puffy, tear-filled eyes. He did care, but not enough to burst out weeping over the loss. It was the sadness that came from knowing that a chance for love was gone just as it started.  
  
"I better go, I be back to work in ten minutes, and I don't know where the address is exactly." Botan spoke before trying to recall every curse ever used against her.  
  
"Okay, see you later then Botan."  
  
She lifted up onto her oar and flew away with only one last thought on the matter, 'Damn you Koenma, he has a right to know about his daughter' which she quickly followed with a string of curses she remembered Hiei using.  
  
A flash of green illuminated the stone building as the fireplace flared and a tall young man dressed in an oddly shaped black dress like thing. At least that is what the gravedigger thought of the black and gray kimono that the red haired man wore. The stranger carried an odd bundle made of what appeared to be black silk as well.  
  
"'Ello sir? Warn't 'spectin' nobody around these parts for the next few days. The Ferguson family burial's tomorrow, so go on home."  
  
"Actually," the boy began in a slow, slightly accented feminine voice, "I'm here to pay last respects to Michelle. She should have been buried a week ago."  
  
"Ah, I remember that family, t'was so sad." The aging gravedigger in his faded black robes picked up an umbrella by the wooden door, wondering how the boy could sound so calm speaking of a dead girl. "I'll show ya to the plot." The boy was probably still in shock at the news.  
  
Outside, a heavy drizzle hid the sun, and the gloomy affect only added to the lines of gravestones and mausoleum entrances. It matched Kurama's mood perfectly.  
  
"Really sad 'bout the whole thing. Whole village went to try and save the auror, and most of them died. Shame 'bout the orphans too. Luckily the news spread fast 'nough to prevent any more from dyin' when the Ferguson family was attacked." The man rambled on as he guided the silent red head. "Damn those Deatheaters, my cemetery's never been starving that much for business."  
  
Stopping abruptly, the man turned down one row of grave markers to point at a newly filled mound of dirt. "Thar she is, I'll leave you be. The doors'll be open for ya when yer done."  
  
After a nod of thanks to the gravedigger, Kurama stood silently for a few minutes before uncovering his bundle. A flowered plant, encased in never-melting ice was uncovered. Setting the frozen flowers down in front of her tombstone, he read aloud her epitaph, "'another soul gone to heaven, an angel that will be missed, taken from us by, he-who-must-not-be-named.' So it is true what I thought. Voldemort killed you, just as you feared. At least your brothers survived." He shuffled his feet a little, glancing back at the flowers. "Yukina helped me make this for you. It's your favorite flower, and it'll never die or melt away with that casing. She cried for you. I didn't, but she has a weak heart; she'd cry over strangers too. There's about five hiruseki in there, not that you would have known what they are. But don't worry; nobody will take this away from you. Even if they could break Yukina's ice, the plant would kill them. I, I guess that I'm sorry you died. I'm not sure. It would have been nice if we could have gotten together, but then we'd both be here and you would be crying and cursing everything because of your family's deaths. I guess it wouldn't have worked out." He paused in thought, "Still, I wonder what you wanted to tell me. Maybe you also thought that it wouldn't work out between us. Well, goodbye."  
  
Without another word, the young man started walking back briskly to the cemetery's main building. Mentally he cursed himself, 'I could have said something better than just "goodbye," what happened to my eloquence. I sounded like a fool.' Another part of him responded coldly, 'It's not as if we actually miss her. The dead are dead, and there is little we can do about it.' Kurama bristled at the thought, but sadly, he realized just how true both statements were. It could be scary how closely linked both sides of him had become.  
  
Kurama reached the stone building, drenched in rain and shivering slightly with the cold. He politely declined the offer of a warm cup of tea, and threw the last of a strangely magical green powder into the fire. After speaking the name of his destination, Genkai's Temple, he entered the fire and returned back to Japan.  
  
The room had one window, which looked out into a rain-drenched, empty playground. The wall to his right held awards and a framed diploma certifying the woman sitting across from him in child rearing. The woman herself was brown haired, and nobody would ever have called her beautiful, though she did have a homey, motherly quality to her. She kept glancing at the pink swathed child in the bassinet on her desk.  
  
He himself was busy trying to untangle the baby's strong fingers from his long white beard. Dumbledore's wide brimmed wizard hat started to slide down his head, and before he could snatch it back, the hat fell into the bassinet. Then the child disentangled her hands from his beard, releasing him, so she could chew on his poor hat.  
  
The woman laughed. "Now Nina, stop laughing. Are you sure you can take another orphan in?"  
  
"Don't worry, Dumbledore, there's plenty of room, and she's the perfect age for what the barren couples want. She'll be adopted quickly with luck."  
  
He smiled, and wondered idly when he'd be getting his chewed up hat back, "Her uncles were taken in by a distant aunt, but nobody else had room for a child that might not have any abilities."  
  
"I'll inform the Ministry and you immediately when she is adopted, or when she shows signs of, unusual behavior." The woman did not comment as the baby's one tooth managed to tear a whole in the wizard's hat, but she did raise one eyebrow. "Just remember what happened to the last orphan that came here who had a muggle and a wizard parent." Dumbledore nodded in thought. "What happened to the mother? Is she truly an orphan?"  
  
"Tom Riddle is what happened." He smiled at the child as she made the cutest cooing noise, and then frowned at his torn hat. Nina suppressed a shudder.  
  
"And the father?"  
  
"He is on the other side of the world, probably doesn't know she exists." She nodded before standing.  
  
"I'll keep an eye on her, and if anything strange happens, I'll send for you." The two exchanged farewells before Dumbledore carefully removed his hat from the child's hands and mouth. There were more tears than he thought. The baby started crying again as he apparated out of the room and back to his school.  
  
The baby, Kitsune, was only a few days older when a nice muggle couple adopted her. The wife had lost her baby, and all chances for others in labor, and had miraculously been sped on the path to a new child, unknowing that the Jr. God of Death had helped her.  
  
Five Years Later, August 31:  
  
"Hey, Kitten, are you ready for your first day of school?" A pair of bright green eyes turned from watching the Teletubbies to regard a tall man with light brown hair and a mustache. The man squirmed as the eyes slanted into a glare.  
  
"Yes, Father." He almost thought the little girl sitting in front of him was being sarcastic. But five year olds were incapable of that, weren't they? It was almost as if she knew the truth....  
  
Her pale red hair, almost the shade of cotton candy, was tied into twin pigtails above her ears, and she looked more like three than the five years she had to be. She stood swiftly from where she had been sitting with her legs crossed, without using her arms and keeping her balance perfectly. Her father wondered if a gymnast could do the same, but then, the child was quite odd.  
  
Blank faced, she slid past him, hair unmoving, the folds of her skirt not even shifting with the movement. He never noticed the deft movements of her hands, or the replacement of his wallet. 'Such a strange child,' was all he noticed.  
  
In the kitchen of the suburban house, the mother, her blonde hair up in a perfect braid, smiled down at her adopted daughter. "The pancakes are done, now eat up Kitten, this is a big day for you." The girl almost smiled, almost.  
  
Scurrying up to her chair, and onto her booster seat, Kit shoveled food into her mouth. "Hey, slow down Kitten, you'll get a tummy ache," the man advised with a laugh.  
  
"She's just excited, her first day of school." The woman smiled as well; finally the child was starting to behave as they thought children should. "The bus won't be here for a while yet." The girl did smile then, to foster their beliefs. In truth, however, she only wanted a full tummy before leaving.  
  
A few minutes later, Kit gulped down a glass of milk, and the blonde woman helped her down from the booster seat.  
  
"I don't need help." The child's voice was high pitched, but the softness of the volume seemed to take the edge out of it. For a moment, the mother was reminded of when the child had started speaking for the first time. When she had been loud, and screamed so much that the woman had needed medicine for her migraines. Now it was rare enough to hear the little girl speak. 'Why did she stop so suddenly, after only a few months?'  
  
Picking up the dirty plate, utensils and glass, the mother smiled down at her distant daughter, "Go to my purse, and get 5 pounds for lunch, you know, five of the pounds with the little one on it. I'll check your counting after I take care of these." The child was already good at counting, nothing would happen.  
  
'Fool.' The girl thought as she removed the money from the purse, every last pound note. Carefully, she left five one-pound notes in a pocket separate from the others she had taken.  
  
The mother brought a little backpack out of the closet. As she placed a large notepad of paper and some crayons and a small box of pencils into the bag, the child studied each object. The bag, the cover of the notepad, and the pencil box were pink, with a large, white, oddly shaped cartoon cat drawn all over each. The girl put on her own coat, again pink, and her black buckled shoes before allowing her mother to fit her arms into the backpack's straps.  
  
"It's a 'Hello Kitty' backpack, so you won't lose it. And it matches your name!" The woman was far too enthusiastic in her opinion. "Now, let's not miss the bus!"  
  
A moment of doubt hit the child, she asked, acting as though she wanted her 'mother' to join her, "Aren't you coming with me?"  
  
"Sorry, Kitten, I can't, I have to stay home and clean the house." Kit hid her relief with a glum face.  
  
When the woman took the girl's tiny right hand, and walked the child up to the waiting bus, she was left with the belief that the girl had finally started warming up to having a family after the years of aloofness.  
  
Walking straight to the back of the bus, Kit took the last seat on the right side. A few stops later, and she was surrounded by brutish 6th graders.  
  
"Hey, little girl, do you miss your mommy?" One of the uglier boys started making faces at her. It didn't take him long to stop at the sight of her calmly glaring face. One, the leader by the way the others surrounded him, merely laughed.  
  
"Let's see if this fazes the brat," He said smugly as he pulled out a knife. He thought it was fear that flashed in her eyes as he began waving it around near the seat.  
  
Minutes later, the boys had thought that the little girl had gotten off before them, and that the leader's knife was safely tucked in his backpack. However, it was lodged under the seat, along with Kit. The bus driver searched each seat for any missing kids, but he never looked under, and when he parked in the bus garage five blocks from the school and left, she crawled out from her hiding.  
  
She jumped onto a seat, and reached for the top of the window. Failing, she jumped to straddle the seat backs with her small legs. Then she pushed the latches to open the window fully, and crawled out into the daylight. Falling to the ground, Kit landed lightly on both feet in a crouch. 'Childs play,' she thought.  
  
Days later, the small, cotton candy haired girl lay underneath a series of mostly dry boxes positioned to form a makeshift tent. Rain splattered down, and she shivered into her muddied pink coat. The 'Hello Kitty' bag lay beneath her head as a pillow, full of stolen coins and pound notes, even some food she managed to pilfer and a couple watches of dubious quality.  
  
A sudden sound made her shift so that she could reach her knife. It wouldn't be the first time a stranger had tried to hurt her, or steal her things. Snatches of conversation drifted down the alley.  
  
".... Never knew what hit 'em."  
  
"This way, we can use this hideout for tonight."  
  
A gang of young boys appeared, some not much older than herself, and she realized that they were whispering to each other. She slowed her breathing, made herself as quiet as possible, and hid the shine of the knife with a box flap. Their leader seemed to slow as he passed the boxes she hid in, and as the other boys passed him, he turned around completely to go back, and peer into her shelter.  
  
"Hey, there's a...." She launched herself at him. Half a second later, she was dangling by her blade hand, and vainly trying to kick at the boy, who happened to be a good foot and a half taller than her. He held her tiny wrist in his hand, and after trying to pry the knife from her fingers, he settled for kicking it out of her hand. "There's a little vixen with a really long fang."  
  
The leader moved aside to allow his gang to search her boxes. While he wasn't looking, Kit pulled herself up enough to kick the arm holding her.  
  
"Yeouch!" He almost dropped her, but managed to keep his grip. "Don't do that again!" He yelled at her. She then very deliberately pulled herself up and slowly moved to bite his arm. Letting her go before Kit could chomp down, he slapped her lightly with the hand that had held her, and somehow managed to grab her wrist again with the same hand to leave her dangling an inch above the ground.  
  
Her eyes were as wide as saucers before they narrowed again to meet his challenging gaze. Before she could fight back any more, a boy's soprano voice spoke up from her shelter, "Boss, she's got at least a hundred pounds in here."  
  
"And food!" A second boy said between a mouthful of apple.  
  
The leader had the audacity to smile at her. "Yer a fast fox, ain't ya?" She nodded slightly. "You wanna join our gang?" Her eyes blinked in amazement, but she caught her emotions quickly to give a noncommittal shrug. "Tough little cookie." He released her, and she fell the last inch lightly, showing no sign that she had ever moved.  
  
"Give her back her stuff." The leader ordered.  
  
"Can I keep the apple?" The hungry boy asked.  
  
"I'm not going to eat it." Her whisper startled the gang a little. The leader just shrugged with another smile and led the way into an abandoned basement.  
  
Kitsune wrinkled her nose at the smell of filth that rose from the basement. Rats scurried along on the tops of tables; the wooden platforms covered the room, forming false flooring. Splashing, a rat fell into a crack between two tables only to flounder in the deep puddle covering the basement's floor. She could hear water slowly draining in one of the far corners.  
  
"It's flooded half the year, it smells, there's rats, the tables fall apart occasionally, but hey, it's home!" The boss flashed a grin at her as the others began to light torches, lanterns, electric lamps, and candles. The sconces on the walls were unmatched and crudely made, but they seemed to hold the torches well. Kit could see shelves and metal cabinets lining the walls, and cushions and pillows lying about haphazardly on the tabletops. "Get the loot into the cabinets, and make sure the rats didn't eat anything again. Fox, you can put your stuff on one of the shelves an' nobody'll touch it."  
  
With the light, Kit finally had a good look at the leader. Black hair slicked by the rain was pulled into a tight ponytail, topped by a cocky wide-brimmed hat. His pale skin seemed to reflect the lights of the flames. He was taller than her, and almost as slim and lithe. And his eyes were weird, narrowed and hard like hers, only in the oddest shade of dark blue, no it wasn't blue, it was that color in the rainbows between blue and violet. Kit couldn't remember what the color was called, but she quickly placed her 'Hello Kitty' bag on one of the empty, lower shelves.  
  
"So, what's yer name fox?"  
  
"Kit, Kitsune really." She whispered as she sat down on a dark green pillow. The leader tossed her a faded blue woolen blanket, and she wrapped herself up in it against the cold.  
  
"Yer mum too?" After the boy received a quizzical look from her green-eyed gaze, he continued, "My name's Kuronue, but everybody just calls me Kuro for short. I swear, my mum must have been on something to name me that."  
  
"My mu... mother is dead. Just don't call me 'Kitten,' I hate that name."  
  
"Fair 'nuff. We'll just call you our little Kit Fox fer now." Holding a small book in his hands, the boy, Kuro, sat down next to her. She fought the urge to move away. "Hey, everything's gonna be okay now. You ain't alone. Max over there by the cabinet lost his parents about two years back, and that boy over there with the green scarf, he don't talk much cause his parents left him in an alley. My mum died when I was little. She got beaten to death by one of her johns. I'm just lucky I was born before all that." His eyes seemed less harsh now, somehow softer, and for a second she saw a pair of bright blue eyes framed by red locks, the eyes of her real mother. "So how old are you, or have you been alone so long you can't remember?"  
  
"I'll be six soon, on September 29. My mother died when I was only a few months old when she never came back, and then I had to live with these people that kept on calling me Kitten, and saying they were my parents. I hated them; they were nothing like my real mother. She was better, and nicer, and smelled better, and she smiled for only me.  
  
Kuro didn't voice his doubts at her remembering anything from that young, but he did return her embrace as she clung to his loose gray jacket and cried. "Hey," he tried to soothe her, "It's okay. Stupid adoptive parents rarely understand something like that. Um, you look a little small for six, but, um, I'm eight, so I guess I'll kinda be like your big brother here."  
  
He looked to the other boys, some listening quietly, two fighting over a half eaten sandwich, and three betting on the fight with shiny pebbles, and many half asleep inside layers of blankets. "Ain't that right boys, we'll all be her big brothers."  
  
A few mumbled back affirmations, one went so far as to wonder aloud what it would be like to have a little sister, even though that boy was only five himself. Kitsune fell asleep with the tears she had been waiting her whole life to shed, and Kuro just held her until she did. As he tucked the small book, a dictionary for both English and Japanese, he thought he would tell her what he had found later, maybe tomorrow, or something.  
  
About a year later:  
  
Smugglers used the warehouse for stashing their ill-gotten gains, or at least that is what the gang believed, and the secret removable floorboards provided evidence to support their belief. All Kitsune knew was that the abandoned facility was a terrific place to store their own goods, and the empty shipping crates were quite comfortable with a few dirty mattresses on top of them. It was also very safe, since nobody messed with the docks after some fire destroyed it and filled the small inlet with charred wood, and Kuro had the only key.  
  
As she lay stomach-down on her mattress, which happened to smell strongly like moldy cheese, Kitsune stared blankly at the open book in her small, dirty hands. Then she glared at the boy eating an apple in front of her. "Kuro," she moaned as the boy paused in mid-bite, "I'm bored." Her voice was liltingly high pitched, like the whine of a baby animal.  
  
"So, read a different book," Kuro responded while chewing a piece of the apple.  
  
"But I've already read them all, and this is so boring. I wish I had something better to read." Kitsune pouted cutely as she threw the book onto the mattress and curled up on her side with her legs underneath her chin and her eyes still focused on her friend.  
  
"Is it more boring than "Dick and Jane find a Cat" or "Dick and Jane visit the museum"?"  
  
Kitsune moaned again, "No, but it's so easy to read. I know it's supposed to be a harder book 'cause it's 44 pages, but I've read it ten times already!"  
  
"You have not, couldn't be more than five times, if even." His easy smile received a glare from the little girl.  
  
Her voice grew cold and very soft, "In a warm and sultry forest far, far away, there once lived a mother fruit bat and her new baby. Oh, how Mother Bat loved her soft tiny baby. 'I'll name you Stellaluna,' she crooned. Each night, Mother Bat would carry Stellaluna clutched to her breast as she flew out to search for food."  
  
A/N: Those lines were from page one of Stellaluna by Janell Cannon, published in 1993 by Harcourt Brace & Company. I didn't just use this because it was the only children's book I had in my bookshelf, but because the story mirrors Kitsune's own in that her mother lost her, she was raised by strangers, and is currently in a society in which she does not belong, and someday, though she does not know it yet, things will change. Also, fruit bats are also known as "Flying Foxes." It works on so many levels, creepy.  
  
"Okay, so maybe you have. Jeez, were you this bad with your adoptive parents?"  
  
"Worse. I was cold all the time, and I always whispered, but I like you more and you don't yell at me for sounding weird."  
  
Kuro reached underneath his mattress and drew out a little book. "This was my ma's, so be careful with it. I'll let you read it and tomorrow we'll clean up and go to the library." He tossed her the Japanese-English Dictionary.  
  
"The library? Why should we go to the spot where we meet up after looting the mall?"  
  
Kuro sighed, "Sometimes you amaze me with your stupidity. The library has lots of books that you can read for free. And I know this lady who knew my mom that works there. She'll let me borrow books without telling anyone I'm a street brat."  
  
"Oh." Kitsune's voice went back to normal. "Okay, I guess we can do that then." She flipped the book open and missed a flash of remembrance in Kuro's indigo gaze.  
  
"Hey, you should look up your name in the Japanese side," Kuro flashes that smirk again, "I think I saw it in there."  
  
Kitsune reads the one word entry beside her name, "Fox," and then she glares at her friend and flips a few pages and starts scanning, "Hey, 'Kuronue's' not in here. Closest thing is 'kuroi' which means black."  
  
"Eh, close enough, that's what 'Kuro' is short for really, so." Kuro shrugs.  
  
"Black and fox." Kit gives him a small smile, "At least it's better than 'Kitten'."  
  
The next day found the entire gang splashing around the ruins of the docks. Older kids helped younger kids bathe in the shallows. The oldest child, Marcus, was ten, so he bought a bag of soap, shampoo and conditioner for the 14 children using some stolen money. Kitsune, being a girl, had been allowed to bathe first, and was currently brushing out her soaking hair in the sun.  
  
Hands reached out from behind Kit to softly stroke her pale red hair. Kit froze before reaching for her hidden belt knife. "Relax fox, it's just me," Kuronue's voice touched her ears, "You've got nice hair, it's pretty. Bet you could make a hundred dollars if you grew it out real long and sold it."  
  
"Hn," She grunted a reply, "Not gonna do that, my mother had long hair, and it was pretty, and very soft."  
  
Kuro stayed silent about his doubts, "Okay."  
  
Finishing her hair, Kit turned around to look at her friend. Her gold-flecked gaze saw bare bottomed boys chasing each other in the shallow waters, and Kuro beside her wearing a white towel that was borrowed from a cheap hostel. His black hair hung down his back with streams of water flowing from the shortened tendrils near his face.  
  
"Hey, once I get dressed we're going to the library."  
  
It didn't' take the boy long to dress in his only decent and clean outfit. Kuro forwent his usual wide brimmed hat, and wore clean khaki shorts, stolen, and a plain white button up shirt, also stolen. Kit had on the only dress she owned, a yellow little thing that replaced her torn and dirtied school dress.  
  
Kuronue led the way to the library and even held the door open for the little girl. Inside was the largest array of books she had ever seen. Rotating stands held paperback books, and there was a whole section for children. Beyond that were hardbound copies of novels, and a section of older tombs labeled "Reference."  
  
Kit found ten; one was the largest book she had ever seen. They were chaptered novels mostly, and a book on foxes that she thought might be interesting. As he escorted her to the checkout desk, Kuro was left wondering how she could hold them, let alone be able to read all of the books.  
  
The librarian was of a like mind. The woman had short-cropped brown hair, a red blouse, and gaudy gold hoop earrings. She looked to be about 30.  
  
"Kuro! How have you been, child? I thought I told you not to get a girlfriend until you were 14." The woman beamed a kind smile.  
  
The boy shivered at a half remembered memory. "Girl's are gross, she's just my friend."  
  
"Wow, this little thing wants to read all of these? I'm assuming she's never been to school just like you." The woman had paused in her scanning of the fox reference book.  
  
"She's got a 'Matilda' complex, and she doesn't know how poorly she reads yet," the boy replied.  
  
"I can read just fine!" Kit screeched in indignation, "And you don't hafta act like I'm not here." Kuro clamped a hand over her mouth and ordered her to be quiet when she spoke because she had earned a few harsh looks from other patrons.  
  
Before the tiny girl could ask what a 'Matilda complex' was, the librarian chuckled and spoke again, "Oh, you've got the book right here too. You're such a darling little thing, if you have any troubles you can just come over here after 6 and I'll have a volunteer read the books to you." Kuro's hand refrained Kit from a rude comment.  
  
Somehow, Kit managed to carry all but the largest book back to the warehouse. Kuro had to help her with the last one. By the time they arrived back home, the sky had darkened with the onset of night. The two children could never have anticipated the scene that awaited them.  
  
The inarticulate screams of a child punctuated hoarse yells for help, and Kit and Kuro began to run. Skidding to a halt to face the front of their warehouse, they dropped the books as terror began to grip them. A large man, whose right hand was sticking out through the boy's abdomen, held Ernie one of the nine year olds. The man's dark hair was matted to his skull, and he had the look of a common vagabond if one ignored the red glow of his narrow eyes.  
  
The man threw the boy's dying body away, knocking down two of the larger boys that held knives. Then his lips drew into an ugly sneer as his burning gaze found Kit. However, she was unaware of this; her senses were focusing on something else. The man, no, he wasn't a man for he glowed, a sickly purple/red aura that lashed out wildly, the feel of it made Kit sick to her stomach. And the man had long claws and a lion tail longer than most of the kids were tall.  
  
Kuro tried to pull the girl away before the monster could grab her too, but she wasn't budging, and the monster kicked him into a garbage can while lifting the girl's rigid body. Looking up quickly, Kuro watched as the killer prepared to pierce his friend's body with his hand. And then Kit disappeared.  
  
A knife slid between the monster's neck vertebrae, and Kitsune was once more visible as she sat perched lightly with her toes on the neck of the killer. Forced to jump down as the monster spasmodically entered his death throws, Kit took cold care in cleaning off her knife.  
  
"Is it dead?" A boy's frightened voice asked as others began weeping. Another voice chimed in to inform everyone of Ernie's passing.  
  
Kuro matched Kit's hard stare, and after walking to his side, she spoke in her eerily cold whisper, "Did you feel it?"  
  
Eyes widening, he started, "Do you mean, that you too?" He turned his stare to the dead body, and his eyes narrowed in concentration. "It's faint, but that evil energy is unmistakable. And the tail and claws, they can't be seen normally, so it was a monster." Kit nodded, relieved that she wasn't the only one to see it. "Fox, do me a favor and don't mention this to anyone. If they ask, you did a back flip and slid out of his grip, 'k?"  
  
"Sure thing." Her voice still carried that cold edge. "I've never been able to see this glow before, but I think I've seen the hidden things once or twice."  
  
Kuro turned toward her, "If it becomes a problem, tell me. This was how I found you when you were hiding in that box, I got an odd feeling so I searched and saw your aura. I've seen glows around everyone ever since I was a baby, and I learned to ignore it for the most part. It becomes a pain in the ass after very short while, but the only colors I've seen were pale and less violent. The only other thing like it was this dark aura I saw around the guy that killed my mum. I think the unseen claws and tail had some kind of spell hiding them, cause I've seen others like that before too."  
  
With that, Kuro left her standing in the night so that he and the older children could dump the monsters body elsewhere and bury Ernie. Kit and the other kids went back into their hideout to hide inside dirty blankets, cry, and sleep.  
  
A/N: Okay, I'll finish this section later and I hope this much has appeased anybody who has actually bothered to read this. This may be more of a biography than an entertaining story, but hopefully the real story will be better, now if I can just start on it this weekend. 


End file.
